The Masquerade
by Pure Sunshine
Summary: Hermione is heartbroken by Draco Malfoy, and Ginny takes matters into her own hands to get Hermione made over and ready for the annual Christmas Ball. After a new person emerges, will Draco realise his mistake? Funny fic!
1. Shopping

The Masquerade: Part I

**A/N:** Thanks for reading everybody, I know I'm simply and _awful_ updater, it's just, I have to be in the mood to write, and I have so many other things going on. I really hope you enjoy this one-shot; it's really different than the type of things I normally write. Also, I just realised that it's incredibly long (for me) so _please_ just read it. You'll like it. I hope.

* * *

"Ooh, Hermione! How about this one, it's simply _fantastic_, come take a look at it!" squealed Ginny Weasley. She was sprawled on Hermione's soft bed, flipping through the latest issue of _Witch Weekly. _Hermione sat at her desk across the room, and looked at Ginny skeptically over her reading glasses. "Oh, come on, Hermione. With you it's work, work, and work! Have some fun once in a while."

Hermione sighed deeply and held the bridge of her nose. She could never finish _any_ assignments with Ginny in the room.

"Fine," she said exasperatedly, "throw it here." Ginny threw the light magazine at her, and Hermione snorted quite un-ladylike at the photograph of a revealing dress robe. "Nice try, Ginny," she grinned. "Like I'd ever be caught _dead_ in that." Ginny walked over and peered at the dress over Hermione's shoulder.

"Honestly, what's wrong with it? It's stunning; do you even know how wonderful that would be for tomorrow night?" Ginny argued as she snatched the magazine back from Hermione.

"What's wrong with it? What's _wrong _with it?" Hermione almost yelled. "You know how modest I am. I just… I couldn't… wouldn't… Ginny! I'm not even _going_ to the silly ball. They're pointless, and think of how much of my holiday work I could finish in the night?" Ginny threw a pillow at Hermione, who just smiled grimly and put the pillow on the ground so she could return to her work.

"You're hopeless!" she cried. "Why are you against going to the ball? Is it because Draco is going to be there?" Hermione turned her head quickly and glared at Ginny.

"No… of course not," Hermione said, her voice a tad shrilly. "Why would I avoid a school event- which I should support- because of… _him_?" she sniffed. Ginny tried her best to hide an oncoming grin. Hermione was caught between school loyalty and avoiding a boy who had broken her heart.

"_Exactly_. So why aren't you going? Think of everyone you'll disappoint by not coming. _Including _me," she huffed. Hermione slammed her giant leather bound book shut angrily and threw her glasses on the desk.

"_Ginny_!" she yelled. "I don't want to go! I'd rather get work done than go waste my time hoping for some acne-prone dimwit will ask me to slow dance with him! I _honestly_ want to get some of my homework done. My book's will never leave me, or break my heart, or snog someone else senseless during a relationship, or tell me that we'd be better off not together… or… or…" Hermione broke off, crying. Ginny felt a pang of guilt and rushed over to comfort her friend.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I just… wanted you to have some fun, let your hair down… just… oh, Hermione! Stop sobbing!" Ginny soothed. Hermione cried for a bit longer, moaning about how horrible Hogwarts was socially, and how she _just wanted to go home_. Eventually she quieted down, with Ginny holding her and patting her back a bit awkwardly.

"Hermione, listen," Ginny said calmly. "If you don't go to the ball just to hide from one sodding person, then you _will_ have your heart broken." Hermione hung her head and waved away Ginny's words, tears splashing onto her lap. "Besides," Ginny tried again, "wouldn't it be just wonderful to go to the ball and prove that you're not still thinking about him?" Hermione looked up. "He'll see you having fun, he'll realise what he's missing!"

"Really?" Hermione hiccupped. Ginny nodded fervently. "Well… I still don't know, you see. He's… it's just so fresh in my mind though. After I caught him with Sally Anne in the broom closet on patrol, I just thought I'd die…." Ginny held Hermione's shoulders away from her.

"Don't you see, though? He saw you upset, and the old teasing, taunting Malfoy was resurrected!" Ginny exclaimed, quite proud of herself for sounding a bit wise in her ways. "Further more, when you were moaning and not eating at meals and such, he knew, Hermione, he _knew_ how upset you were! If you had just ignored it all, and continued to have fun with your friends and such, he wouldn't be so… cruel and distant? Do you understand?"

Hermione looked down again, nodding a bit sadly. "Oh, Ginny," Hermione said, her eyes brimming with tears yet again. "I'm so thick… I did everything horribly. I…" Her eyes grew wide with fear- "I… _failed_! I never fail. I _can't_ fail. Oh, no. I'm just… rubbish now. I _hate this!_" Hermione slammed her fist onto the pillow on Ginny's lap. Ginny seized the opportunity immediately.

"Hermione, what if we just… why don't we… yes, it's _perfect_!" she exclaimed. After a look and sob from Hermione, Ginny continued. "What if we go into Hogsmeade? You can, after all, it's allowed with your Head Girl privileges…." Hermione stopped crying at looked at Ginny with an almost tipsy attitude about her.

"Ginny, tell me why the _bloody hell_ going into Hogsmeade would make me feel any better? And I can hardly leave this dormitory, as Draco is always out in the common room… our common room… where we…" Hermione trailed off. Ginny made a disgusted face.

"Too much information there. But what I'm saying is, what if we took you into Hogsmeade to… get a dress?" Hermione dropped her jaw.

"Did you not hear me, Ginny? I don't want to go to that bloody ball!!" she screamed. Ginny calmed her down almost immediately.

"Yes, I heard you of course. But… if you go, especially with another boy, think of all the revenge you'd have on Draco!" Ginny said excitedly, her eyes dancing at the mere thought. "We'd get you a dress- a killer dress, simply fantastic- and come back here, do your hair, accessories, etc. Oh, Hermione, think of the possibilities!! You'd be so beautiful, so different from your usual… look!" Hermione wiped her eyes with her hands.

"Are you saying my everyday look is… drab?" she inquired. After a fervent shaking of the head from Ginny, Hermione quieted down. After a few moments of thinking, she finally looked at Ginny sadly. Sighing, she asked, "Do you think Dumbledore'll let you come as well?"

Ginny positively _squealed_ with delight. It was time for Hermione to have some fun.

* * *

"Oh, Ginny! It's so cold! Lets just pop in here… really quickly though, just to warm up!" Hermione exclaimed, shivering. Ginny didn't need being told twice. What was she thinking by wearing a simple lightweight jacket in the wintertime in _Scotland_? Hermione looked up at the name of the shop- _Griselda's Creations_. Hermione recalled Pansy Parkinson- the complete _slut_ from Slytherin- talking about this store. Apparently it had a sort of… naughty reputation. As soon as they rushed into the store, they heard a faint tinkling of a bell and a strong wave of cheap perfume. Ginny scrunched up her nose.

"Well, why don't we just have a look around- yes, I _know _where we are, Hermione, we'll only look- while we warm up?" Hermione nodded skeptically, but rubbed her hands together for warmth and looked at the pieces of clothing. Or, rather, half of pieces of clothing.

'_It figures that Pansy Parkinson would shop here_,' she thought as she fingered a dress robe that, in Hermione's opinion, was a couple of strategically placed strips of cloth sewn together. She shouldn't have touched it, though, because almost at once a saleslady walked over to Hermione and snatched the dress out of her hand.

"May I help you with this? It's adorable, right? Simply marvy pattern and it'd look great on anyone who wears it!" she recited. Hermione nearly snorted. The lady who was helping her was absolutely… ridiculous. She was about eighty years old and wearing the same robe but with a different pinkish print. Her hair was almost trailing behind her, it was so long, but a charm kept it an inch high so it wouldn't get dirty. And Hermione simply _had_ to disagree, as the teenybopper outfit did _not_ belong on an elderly lady's body… especially the saleslady herself, who wasn't as… perky as she used to be.

"Actually," Hermione stated loudly and clearly, "I was looking for something a bit less revealing." The lady's hand flew to her chest, and she heard several other customers tut at her comment.

"Why, dearie, we don't _have_ anything less revealing. Perhaps you should shop at a less fashionable store, such as Madame Malkin's or some other cheap store," growled the saleslady. Hermione smiled as sweetly as she could at the lady and swiftly turned around to find Ginny. As soon as she saw a little red head bobbing up and down the dress section, she rushed over and grabbed her arm tightly.

"Ow, Hermione! Stop it, let go! I don't _want _to leave just yet," she complained. Hermione stomped her foot childishly.

"Ginny, this place is positively _slutty_. I do _not_ want to buy a dress from here," Hermione nearly yelled. "The saleslady who helped me was horribly rude, and… I want to go back to the castle!" Ginny picked a few dresses off the rack in front of her. Still she continued to talk to Hermione.

"Who helped you then, and was vulgar towards you?" she asked. Hermione grunted angrily, sounding different from her normal intellectual self.

Throwing her hands up in the air, she yelled, "I don't _know_! Some old hag over in the lingerie section!" Ginny stood on her tiptoes and peered over the racks at the old lady holding up a picture of a scantily-clad model to an interested customer. Ginny threw her hand over her mouth and ducked back down.

"Cripes, Hermione! That's Griselda herself… were you discourteous to her as well? And bloody hell, why were you in the lingerie section? You're obviously not going to find decent clothes _there_ in a shop such as _this_!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione's cheeks turned red, a nice contrast to her tanned skin.

"Are you _joking_, Ginny? Let's go, please!" she begged. Ginny shook her head and looked Hermione straight in the eye.

"We're not leaving until you try these dresses on," she said firmly. She grabbed Hermione's wrist and dragged her into a nearby changing room. "You're going to put these on and you're going to _like it_." Hermione barely had the chance to protest when she was flung into a small room with only a small mirror and hook to hang the dresses Ginny had thrown at her. With a glance at a couple of them, she yelled out to Ginny,

"There's no way I'm going to wear these!" Outside, Ginny continued to silently read her magazine and merely rolled her eyes at Hermione's comment. Hermione waited for a snarky retort, but found none and decided to try on one of the dresses. She slipped off her uniform, folded it neatly, and put it neatly on the ground on top of her 'sensible' shoes. '_Neatness always counts_,' she thought. Putting her forefinger to her pursed lips, she skimmed her eyes over Ginny's choice of outfits. She realised that she couldn't try on a dress without any nice sandals to wear with it, so she poked her head out of the door and looked at Ginny.

"_Psst_, Ginny!" she whispered. "Could you be a doll and grab some nice sandals or flats to go with the dresses? Black preferably, nice and sensible, seeing as it's the only colour to match most of these dresses." Ginny muttered an alright, and reluctantly put down her magazine, setting off to see if there were any shoes at the shop.

Hermione closed the door and ran her slender fingers across the fabric of the dresses. She _did_ have to admit that the clothes were good quality, almost the equivalent of Muggle designers such as Chanel or Dolce and Gabbana. Pretty nice things, Hermione did admit, but like _hell_ she'd be able to afford them. That thought running through her mind, she nervously grabbed the tag from one of the burgundy dresses and gasped. '_7,000 galleons for a _ridiculous _dress? How could Ginny expect me to be able to _afford_ such a thing?_' she thought frantically.

There was a knock on the door, and Hermione drew her gaze away from the price tag. She opened the door hesitantly, and found Ginny there with a very smug look about her face. "Why are you smirking?" Hermione asked suspiciously. She looked down at the shoes that Ginny handed to her, and found a pair of black stiletto heels, about 3 inches high. Her eyes grew huge. Her parents would never, ever let her wear these.

"Ginny! How could you? You know I couldn't wear these, they're ridiculous. Who could totter around in such… shoes that are relying on _toothpicks_ to hold them up?" shrieked Hermione. Ginny smiled yet again, being strangely quiet, and sat back down on her fluffy pouf. "Ginerva Molly Weasley, look at me right this instant!" Ginny looked up at her, feeling rather bored.

"What do you want _now_?" she snapped. Hermione scoffed.

"You're joking me. I could never wear such shoes. They… look… they cost more than my _orthodontia_!" she exclaimed. Ginny waved her hand at her, as if saying, '_Rave on, rave on. You tell _such _amusing stories_.' Hermione slammed her door shut in defeat and looked at the shoes helplessly. Nevertheless, she put them on the ground and slipped her feet into them. As she stood back up straight, she rose three inches higher than how she normally stood and immediately fell backwards, slamming her head into the wall. "_DAMN!_" she yelled.

As she slumped back up, she ripped one of the dresses off of the hanger and angrily shoved it over her head. She buttoned up part of the side and- holding on to the walls carefully as to not fall- she turned around in it. She _hated _Ginny. How dare she bring her in such a morally… demeaning store, and find the cutest dress robe possible? Hermione herself admitted that she could never have found a robe like such and marveled at Ginny's obvious talent.

The dress was sleeveless, and had a collar that went across from shoulder to shoulder in a slightly curved line. It was ivory, with black trimming and black polka dots, just the right size as to not look silly. Her back was completely visible, though, and Hermione was rather skeptical about it. As beautiful as it was, it just wasn't right for her. She took the shoes off first ('_Sodding uncomfortable_,' thought Hermione) and the dress robes. She put it back on the hanger and over the door, and it disappeared from sight almost straightaway.

"Oh, Hermione!" came Ginny's voice. "You didn't like it? It's the cutest one!" she whined. Hermione chose to ignore her- a taste of her own medicine- and try on the next dress. It too was beautiful, a baby doll dress that was a soft fern colour with a dark green sash that went underneath her breasts and tied in the back. It was sleeveless and ruffled on the bottom, and Hermione adored it. However, it was just a tad bit too low cut. It showed off ample cleavage, of which Hermione was not… willing to show everyone.

"Ginny, I want your _honest _opinion, alright?" she yelled. Hermione was about to open the door and heard Ginny say,

"Alrighty then. I think your hair is positively awful and desperately needs a deep conditioner." Hermione stuck her head out of the crack she'd made with the door, and mouthed, '_Piss off_!' Ginny smirked at her, and although Hermione was sadly reminded of Malfoy, she walked out anyway. Ginny was so astounded she flung her magazine aside.

Without thinking, she asked, "Where… where'd you get _those_?" Hermione was shocked and her hands flew up to cover her chest.

"What's wrong? It's too low, isn't it?" she said sadly. "It's _beautiful_, but I could never wear this." Ginny stood up quickly.

"Hermione, are you joking? You _must_ get that! It's the perfect dress!" she shrieked. "It fits you so well, I… wow… I can't believe it! Where on _Earth _did you get those _curves_? And… what… why don't you ever show them? Or flaunt them?" Hermione snorted.

"Right, Ginny. Any way, it's just… too low for me," she sighed. "And I could never afford it. And the shoes, well, they're just a tad bit too high. They don't even match!" she laughed. It suddenly struck her funny as she realised that. She never would have thought of that a few months ago or something. Was Ginny rubbing off on her?

"Hermione, go put your uniform back on- yes, your uniform. We're done here. And hand me the pumps and dress," Ginny said, her mouth set in a firm line on her face. Hermione did as she was told quickly and quietly, and Ginny marched over to the counter, where a bored looking young girl was chewing on her nails. She lifted her eyelids up as if they were extremely heavy, and looked down at them over her large Roman nose.

"Will that be all for you today?" she uninterestedly.

"No," said Ginny firmly. "I'd like to speak to Ms. Griselda at once, please!" The girl at the register let out a sort of strangled laugh and called for Griselda. Griselda herself came gliding over, her hands raised next to her in a sort of aristocratic manner. "Hello, Ms. Griselda. First, I'd like to say that all of your creations are exquisite and beautiful in their own… individual way." Griselda clapped her hands together with pleasure.

"Why thank you, my dear," she laughed. "You _do_ seem like the type of person who is interested in fashion, and knows much about it as well!" Ginny laughed a bit, and Hermione realised that it was Ginny's fake laugh. '_Oh, Merlin_!' thought Hermione. '_She's going to try and scam her way out of the full price!_' Panicking a bit, Hermione backed up and pretended to be vaguely interested in some sort of material. However, she wasn't paying attention to it at all, and was peering over the top at Ginny.

'_Damn_,' she thought. '_I can't hear a bloody thing they're saying_!' She watched as Ginny and Griselda chatted animatedly, and Ginny handing over… Hermione squinted… a few _Sickles?_ The bored-looking girl at the register had her jaw dropped, but she put the money into the machine and uttered a small spell to wrap the dress- and _shoes?_- in a fine silk material and placed neatly into a bag. She then watched as Griselda and Ginny kissed each other's cheeks- once on each one- and Ginny yelled, "Ta-ta!"

Hermione snapped her attention back to the item she was holding, and said in a strained sort of voice, "What did you _do?_" Ginny merely laughed at Hermione and took the hanger out of Hermione's hand.

"Nothing, Hermione. And I'm putting this back, seeing as a leather teddy really isn't your sort of thing!" Ginny exclaimed.

* * *

**A/N: **Ooh, it's different. But please review, I honestly hope you liked it. It's part one of three. One being shopping, two being make over, three being ball.

Pure Sunshine


	2. The Makeover

The Masquerade: Part II

**A/N: **Wow, almost no bloody reviews. Thanks to the few who did review; I am so appreciative of you guys being so faithful. I probably wouldn't be updating right now though unless I was in such a horrible mood as I am right now. The passion of _anger_ makes me want to pour emotions into stories. Haha. And _no_, she is not wearing a prostitute dress. That's silly and impractical.

* * *

"Hermione, it'll be wonderful!" squealed Ginny. "You've got a wonderful dress robe, gorgeous shoes, and a body that I didn't even know _existed_. Don't worry, as soon as I talk to- oh, hell, I almost gave it away- as soon as I talk to your _date_ for tomorrow night, we'll be able to start your _makeover _in the morning! This is just _too_ exciting!" Hermione smiled faintly at her passionate young friend, wondering where she got all her bloody energy from.

Ginny just kept blabbering on as they walked through the hallways, passing fellow students who were giving them a most peculiar stare. As Ginny kept talking and talking, a certain something was pulling at Hermione's chest. Hermione instantly recognized it at dread- or fear. What if her new makeover _was_ wonderful and attracted certain boys to come dance with her? Would she ignore them? Would they even _come_? Her biggest fear was finally acquiring a handsome lad to dance with her, but her scaring him away with small talk having to do with Snape's latest essay prompt or somewhat.

Hermione was immensely relieved, however, when she arrived at her portrait hole to go to sleep. "Ginny," she said softly. "I'm glad you're so happy for me, but I'm really tired… I'll see you bright and early in the Gryffindor common room for my… erm, transformation." Ginny clapped her hands together excitedly and gave Hermione a quick hug.

"_A'voir!_" she said quickly, and ran away to her common room. Hermione slumped against the wall and banged her head against the portrait. Immediately the elderly man's snore turned into a strangled yell. "Blast it all! Who indeed is that? Show yourself at once!" Hermione's face turned a deep red and she quickly muttered the password. As the disgruntled old man swung forward to reveal the common room entrance, Hermione heard several odd noises coming from it.

"_Oh, _Draco, _darling_…" was all Hermione needed to hear. '_So,' _she thought. '_He brought Sally Anne back to the common room to… to…_' Her eyes brimmed with tears and she dashed over to her stairway that led to her room. Her packages were flying out behind her, and she only glanced over at Draco and Sally Anne for a quick moment. She immediately wished she hadn't, and let out a small gasp.

Draco was sitting on the brown leather couch, slumped down with an elbow propped on the arm of the chair. He was holding the side of his head, his hair mussed up and his tie loosened. Standing in front of him was Sally Anne, her foot placed in a certain area on Draco's body. Hermione's jaw nearly dropped as she saw Sally Anne dressed quite… naughtily. She was clad in a skimpy red bra, showing off an enormous amount of her breasts. She was also only wearing matching lacy bottoms with a garter strap holding onto knee-high nude fishnets. Hermione noted she was wearing red stilettos (_'How__? Honestly, _how_ does she bloody walk around?!_' she thought) and her wavy black hair was falling short beneath her shoulders.

Just as she was shielding her eyes, she heard another sort of strangled yell. "Hermione!" came Draco's weak voice. Hermione felt tears almost flowing down her cheeks, and her throat was stuck in a position where her voice would come out squeaky. Not wanting him to see her cry, she dashed upstairs and slammed her door shut behind her. After carelessly throwing her expensive dress and shoes on the ground, she threw herself on her bed, tears flowing freely and strangled sobs escaping her mouth. She pounded on her pillow as hard as she could, thoughts of skimpy bras, men, and _bloody wankers _running through her mind.

A few seconds later muffled shouting was heard down in the common room. Hermione whipped out her wand and sound-proofed her door, not wanting to hear an angry lover's spat. Once everything was quiet, she hugged her body and tightly as she could, barely breathing. She couldn't shut her eyes, because every time she did so she saw Draco and Sally Anne alone together in the common room. She was horrified. Still, she got up quietly, hiccupping every now and then, and hung her dress up on a hook next to the door. Suddenly, she heard a rather noisy and frantic pounding.

She turned quickly and looked at where the sound was coming from. She tiptoed over to it and opened the door just a crack. There she saw Draco's face, cheeks tinged with a slight pink. "_Hermione_!" he whispered hoarsely. Angrily she slammed the door shut as spell wore off, and she heard "_Hermione_! Listen to me, I need to talk to…." She said the spell again, not wanting to hear dim-witted excuses for her heartbreak. She crawled into her cozy bed and cried until sleep claimed her.

* * *

Hermione groggily woke up the next morning, sunshine pouring from her small window into the huge room. As much as she wanted to stay in bed, she quietly got up and brushed her teeth. She glanced at her watch, and upon seeing the time threw on her cloak, grabbed her dress and shoes, and rushed out to the Gryffindor common room. When she muttered the password and raced up to the girl's dormitories, she completely ignored calls from her friends. She rushed into her old room to find Ginny, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown all waiting for her with face masks on.

Breathless, she let out, "Sorry I'm late, I didn't know I… what the _hell_ is on your faces?" Hermione giggled, something she rarely did. Parvati made a sour face at Hermione, but rushed over to give her a hug. As she did so, she backed away, still holding Hermione's arms.

"Hermione, dear," she said delicately. "Did you, erm… shower this morning?" Hermione shook her head, and Parvati turned to the other two girls. "Ladies, we have some serious work to do here." The other girls rushed forward, chatting excitedly to each other, prodding Hermione's face here and poking her belly there. It was all rather embarrassing. Finally, they seemed to come to a conclusion of what to do first and sat Hermione down. Parvati and Ginny were on either side of her, holding her arms and watching Lavender strut around the room.

"First thing we are going to do to you, Hermione, is… well, take off your cloak and robes and put this on," she said strictly. She handed Hermione a fuzzy pink bathrobe, and Hermione glanced at all the others. They were wearing the exact same things- Lavender in… lavender, Ginny in red, and Parvati in a gold colour. Her face turning red, she took off her cloak and asked the others to turn around. Grudgingly they did so, and she quickly slipped out of her clothes and put on the robe.

"Good," said Lavender. Then, she yelled, "_Next!_" Parvati came up behind Hermione and brushed her hair out with some difficulty. Ginny came in front of her as well and put a greenish goop on Hermione's cheek. After Hermione automatically wiped it off, Lavender yelled, exasperated, "Hermione! You have to keep still as we help you out! Don't you want to look your best for Draco?" Hermione looked scathingly at Ginny, who shrugged and slapped some more goop on her face.

"Great, Hermione," Ginny exclaimed. "This is a concoction I made myself that will make your skin clear and radiant and beautiful! Feels as soft as a baby's backside… look here, feel my arm!" Hermione did so, and wasn't quite convinced. She didn't say so however, and Ginny spread the lime-smelling goop across her forehead. Once Parvati was done untangling the knots, Hermione rubbed her sore head, but Parvati swatted her hand away and put the hair into a high ponytail. Then they all came up in front of Hermione, peering closely into her face. Hermione backed her head a bit, but Ginny jerked her head forward as Lavender brought up a pair of tweezers. Hermione's eyes grew to the size of teacups.

"_Oh, NO!_" she exclaimed, her hands flying up to her unruly eyebrows. "You can't, simply can't… think of how much it will hurt!" Parvati sighed, and Hermione noted how incredibly fake it sounded.

"Oh, Hermione," said Parvati. "Don't you know pain is the price of great beauty? Don't talk rubbish." Hermione squeaked a no, but they all chanted, "_Petrificus Totalus!_" and Hermione lay on the bed, completely still. Her eyes were full of fury, and if looks could kill, Parvati, Lavender, and Ginny had been murdered days before. Ginny held a magnifying glass up to Hermione's forehead, and Lavender plucked Hermione's eyebrows to perfection. However, Hermione was shooting daggers at them the entire time, feeling like her very forehead was on fire. As soon as they murmured the counter curse, Hermione leaped up and nearly strangled Lavender.

"_This_ is the thanks I get?" yelled Lavender. Ginny plopped Hermione back down and soothed her, telling her to leave Lavender alone- she was only trying to help. Also, according to Ginny, Lavender and Parvati were _the _people to go to, as they did wonderful jobs with makeup, clothing, etc. No wonder their grades were so dismal in every class except Divination… they were both so busy concentrating on waxing and other painful ways to… "Beautify™" one's self.

After they were finished with her face, they all headed to the bathroom and took showers, one right next to the other. Hermione was stuck on the far right, next to Lavender. Unfortunately, it was the most painful shower Hermione had ever had, as random creams and shampoos were being chucked into her stall. Everything varying from "_Frieda's Frizz-No-More" _to "_Magic Hair Removing Cream_" was rubbed, scratched, massaged, or scrubbed onto Hermione's skin or scalp.

Once the shower was over, they all rubbed _Serena's Smoothing Serum™ _vigorously onto their bodies. Hermione was aching all over; she'd never _dreamed_ that a makeover would hurt so much. Everyone wrapped towels around their heads and headed back to the dormitory, receiving several whistles from the males they sauntered past. Hermione brought up the rear, slouching slightly and turned her head facing the wall. As soon as they walked into the room, Ginny performed a quick drying spell on their hair.

"Oh," said Hermione, feeling a bit dim. "It never occurred to me to use such a spell after the shower… Ginny, it's ruddy _brilliant_!" Ginny blushed slightly and thanked her. Hermione's hair was still bushy and frizzy, though, and she was quite annoyed with it. Parvati came up to Hermione, her dark hair shining and flowing behind her.

"Parvati is _the_ expert on hair," noted Lavender. "I wouldn't let anyone else deal with a single strand of my beautiful blonde hair." Hermione snorted, finding Lavender quite snotty by saying such a thing. Although she was a bit ruffled by Hermione's snort, Parvati beamed and thanked Lavender profusely. Then, she pulled some Sleek-Easy Hair Potion out of her nightstand and slathered it on Hermione's hair. Once it was smooth and straight, she whipped out her wand.

Hermione loved her hair straight. She personally thought it beautiful, and thought that it suited her quite nicely. It was truly horrible, she knew, that it took too long to tame it.

Parvati chanted a spell that Hermione had never heard before and watched in a nearby mirror as her beautiful, shiny straight hair was slowly shortening and winding itself. "What's going on?" she asked worriedly. Parvati hushed her and Hermione then saw as her hair formed, all by itself, into an elegant low knot on the back of her head. Small curls were falling out of it here and there, especially around her face. It was _amazing._

Ginny plopped herself down in front of Parvati as well, pushing Hermione to the side. "Oh, _Hermione!_" she exclaimed, patting her own hair. "It's beautiful! But it's my turn." Hermione stood up and walked to the bed, where she sat down. She watched as Lavender "worked her magic" on Ginny. Ginny's hair immediately scrunched into soft waves flowing down to her mid-back. Then two pieces from under hear ears went around to the back of the head, magically staying in place.

Afterwards, Lavender's "beautiful blonde hair" was only straightened with some extra shine. Lavender looked down her nose at the other girls.

"I want to keep mine simple, you know, so everyone can pay attention to my beautiful dress," she stated. Hermione exchanged a look with Ginny while Lavender ran her fingers down her gold hair. Afterwards, Parvati curled the ends of her hair and left it in dark, deep layers. She too wished to keep it quite simple.

Then came the moment of truth. After Ginny walked over to the hook holding their dresses, Hermione clenched her fists. She was quite nervous about her dress robe, feeling it too revealing and inappropriate for a Head Girl. Ginny handed each girl their robes, each squealing as they saw one another's dresses. Hermione protectively hid hers behind her back as she watched the girls slip their dresses on and zipper each other up.

Hermione plopped down on the bed, gripping her dress firmly in her lap. The other girls looked _so_ beautiful. She felt it wasn't fair- these were the types of girls that most guys went positively crazy and… _randy_ for. Hermione _knew_ that in her whole experience in Hogwarts, no guy had ever thought of her like that. Viktor liked her for her brains and… in his opinion, "beautiful soul". She snorted. Draco was different. He _loved _her for her wits, her snarky comments, her brains- he loved her for who she _was._ Apparently that wasn't enough physically.

"Hermione?" came a timid voice. Hermione's head shot up as she saw Parvati in front of her. "Well? What do you think? And I'm trusting you to give me your _honest_ opinion." Hermione's eyes scanned Parvati's dress. It was a gold colour, contrasting beautifully with her dark skin. It dropped right below her knee, and had black tulle fluff the skirt end up. She looked positively radiant.

"Oh, Parvati," she sighed. "No words come! You look smashing." Parvati grinned toothily and placed a miniature sunflower above her ear. As she slipped on black pumps, Lavender stepped forward, clad in a strapless scarlet dress robe. Hermione was taken aback momentarily, but found it actually quite flattering on her. It was floor length, but showed just enough of a pair of high-heeled red sandals, completely flattering her red toenail polish.

"Lav! You look darling, red is definitely the perfect colour for you!" squealed Ginny. Hermione wholeheartedly agreed, watching Lavender snap gold hoops with red beads onto her ears. Finally, as Ginny sauntered to the front of the group, Hermione jumped up.

"Cor, Ginny!" was all she could say. Her friend looked beautiful. Hermione looked on as Ginny spun around like a model. Her dress was a deep, deep green, with a low square neckline and inch-thick straps. It set off her pale skin and cutesy freckles so wonderfully that Hermione felt inferiorly ugly. And although she was barefoot, she still looked totally complete.

"Thanks…" said Ginny, a bit puzzled. "…if that's a compliment." Hermione nodded her head quickly, not wanted to sound as if she was criticizing the outfit. "Now, Hermione… it's your turn."

Parvati and Lavender spun quickly around and squealed, wanting to see how their _creation_ came out. Hermione was quite nervous- she wasn't sure she was ready to wear something so revealing- but she slipped the dress robe on and zippered up the back. She walked up to the other girls quite shyly, folding her arms across her chest. Lavender gasped.

"Hermione!" she squealed. "Unfold your arms at once! Let me see… oh... _Hermione_!" Hermione had let her hands down toward her sides to show them her dress, but immediately regretted doing so. "No, Hermione, honestly," Lavender added, "the dress looks really marv on you. I never… I can't believe… wow." Hermione walked over to the mirror and looked herself over.

She was… beautiful. She'd never seen herself like this- so… well polished. If her mother had been here, tears would be rolling down her face, proudly stating "Hermione, you're a little _lady_." Her face was smooth and clear, her eyebrows plucked and even, and teeth straight and white. Her hair was still in ringlets, but it complemented the dress quite nicely. Ginny had dyed the black pumps a dark green to match Hermione's sash as well, so she put them on and wobbled a little. Then, Parvati came up behind Hermione and put a little dainty flower in her knot.

Ginny glanced quickly at the clock. "Damn! We're late!" she cried. The girls looked at each other in horror.

After Ginny said that, each girl frantically put on a little eye makeup and lippy, (Hermione's done for her), and they all looked at each other and held hands. This, of course, soon turned into a huge bear hug in which Lavender broke free of, proclaiming "My hair's getting ruined!" They all laughed and started for the door.

"Hermione," said Ginny. "Your _date_ is waiting for you!" She snickered and walked through the door, and Hermione's heart started to flutter. She'd completely forgotten about her blind date. '_What if Ginny picked out someone horrible? What if she picked out someone _gorgeous_? What'll I do? What'll I say?" _she thought frantically. Each girl descended down the stairwell slowly and ran to greet their dates.

Ginny walked over to Harry and gave him a quick peck on the lips, causing his face to turn quite red. Hermione clicked her tongue in wonder- how long had they been going out? She'd sure missed quite a few things- sobbing over Draco had caused her social status to plummet to the ground.

She then watched as Parvati strolled over to Dean, whom she grinned at as he pinched her cheek lovingly. He was wearing a gold tie underneath his black dress robes to compliment Parvati's dress. Next, Lavender sauntered over to Seamus, and quite naughtily grabbed his tie and pulled him into a full frontal snog session. Hermione felt herself blush, but looked over at the last boy remaining.

It was Ron. He stood there blushing quite profusely, the tips of his ears tinged pink far more than she'd ever seen. He was rather sweaty, and rubbed his free hand on the side of his robes. His other hand held a beautiful corsage, obviously picked out by Ginny, she thought. He grinned sloppily when he saw her, and although she felt a bit disappointed, she walked over to him and gave him an awkward hug.

"Hey, 'Mione," he said, his voice cracking a bit. She backed away and smiled at him, remembering to look as sweet as possible. She was about to say hello back, until he asked, "Do you know if Luna's ready yet?" Hermione was shocked.

"Wh…what?" she asked. "What are you talking about?" Her hand flew up to her forehead. What was going on? Wasn't Ron her secret date? Ron laughed nervously, and explained his situation to Hermione.

"You see, it took me a load of guts to ask her. I mean, I know she's a bit… er… _loony_ at times, but I think that's really different and beautiful at the same time," he laughed. "So, I asked her to the ball as soon as humanly possible. And she told me she was getting ready with some Gryffindor girls tonight, so I thought she might have been with you guys…er… yeah," he finished lamely. Hermione's heart leapt a bit.

She bid him a good luck, and a "see you later", and strolled over to Ginny and Harry, who were laughing and kissing. Hermione nervously prodded Ginny, who turned to Hermione and shrugged. Hermione felt dizzy yet again. Had she been stood up? '_Merlin_,' she thought. '_This is just too much to handle.' _She walked over and sunk into a squashy armchair, before realizing she was sitting on something that was poking her in a place she didn't normally like to mention.

She reached under and pulled out an ivory envelope, that in a neat cursive writing read "_Hermione_". Hermione gasped. She realised just then exactly whose handwriting that belonged to.

* * *

Whoa. I know I took forever (hey, I warned you), but I think it's rather nice. Special thanks to all who reviewed. 


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